Nightly Shelter
by deijnar
Summary: Adrien's whole world collapses as he finds out the horrendous truth about his father. But a certain bug is taking care of the lost cat.
1. Part 1

Awoken by something fumbling around his right hand Adrien slowly opened his eyes. They widened in shock as he realized that his father hunkered over the edge of his bed, trying to take the ring off of his finger.  
Adrien understood immediately, pushed his father away and rolled over to the other side to jump out of bed. At the sudden movement Plagg woke up too, yanked and inspected the scene in front of him uncomprehending.  
Taking advantage of the paralyzed state of his father Adrien rushed past him, up the stairs to the second level of his room. Eventually Gabriel unfroze with a furious and determined expression on his face and began to chase after his son.  
"Oh no, you won't!" Adrien snarled and got away from the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw with relieve that Plagg seemed to gain slight understanding for what was going on and quickly swallowed the camembert hidden in the bedside table.  
"Claws out!" Adrien yelled as soon as his Kwami was done and transformed during the act of running. In one swift motion he jumped over the railing at the end of the gallery and landed gracefully on his feet. Surprised he noticed that his father jumped down too instead of running back to the stairs but Chat was still ahead of him and he wasn't willing to give his lead away too easily. There was only one way to get away from his father.  
He built up as much speed as he could on the short distance, raised an elbow in front of his face and aimed for the nearest window. "Adrien!" was everything he could hear over the bursting glass around him as he escaped into the Parisian night.  
Once again he handled a steady landing on both of his feet. He straightened up, murmured "Cataclysm" and walked straight towards the car. Due to his slight touch as he ran by it crumbled into thousands of pieces. Sure his father had other cars but it would take the Gorilla a little time to get one of them out of the garage.  
 _I need to be fast_ , Chat thought to himself, still fighting back all the other horrible thoughts that tried to sneak a way into his brain. But where did he need to get fast? His father knew Nino so his house was not an option. And as much as he liked her, he didn't trust Alya enough yet.  
Marinette would have been his first choice but he was certain that she wasn't tough enough to take this situation and putting her in danger was the last thing he wanted.  
So he only had one chance.

Ladybug was not supposed to be on patrol this time of night but to Chat's tremendous alleviation she recently decided to allow herself a quiet moment at the Eiffel Tower. It was a load off his mind and he was eased that he actually found her since his Miraculous already began beeping threateningly.  
"Chat, what…" astonished she looked at him as he took her hands and interrupted her. "My Lady. I know we thought that Hawk Moth is not Gabriel Agreste but… but…"  
One last beep.  
"We were wrong."  
The first tear rolled over his cheek. For Ladybug it looked like it washed the mask off of his face, leaving her staring into Adrien's hopeless eyes. He collapsed into her embrace she intuitively offered him, too perplex to cope the state of affairs. Desperately clutching at her arms that were holding him Adrien cried his heart out.


	2. Part 2

Hey lovely people, I truly didn't expect such an interest in my story and I'm so so glad for every single person who thinks my stuff is worth reading! The ideas in my head are exploding at the moment, for many different fics. That means I have no idea if I can update this one very regularly but I'll try my best! :)

Also; **please** contact me if you find any mistakes I made! English is not my first language so I'm thankful if someone corrects me.

* * *

Ladybug didn't know what to do. It was an absurd situation. She was holding the boy she loved and who had been her trusted partner all this time in her arms, desperately trying to hold his world together as it fell apart right in front of her. The only thing she was capable of was to stand helplessly in the face of her breaking ally and friend.  
Her attempt of making a calming noise only caused Adrien to sob even harder and tighten his grab around her arms to a level that actually hurt her. But she didn't care. There was not a single thing she cared about at that moment except for Adrien.  
"Are you sure?" she whispered scarcely audible after what felt like hours of them clustered together on top of the Eiffel Tower, both frantically trying to process their new knowledge. "Maybe he was just… akumatized?"  
 _Pitiful_ , she despised her own words. Not even she believed herself. _  
_"I am. No doubt" was everything he managed to answer with a sad, throaty voice, slowly letting go of her. Puffy, blank eyes looked into Ladybug's. "I am too tired to explain. To… apologize" His voice cracked and he buried his face in his hands as his shoulders began to tremble again. For the first time Ladybug spotted Chat's Kwami, sitting on Adrien's head, looking down at his holder in concern and awkwardly patting his forehead in a helpless attempt to console him.  
What must have been a million thoughts were rushing through her head at the sight, every single one dedicated to Adrien. What should she do now? What _could_ she do?  
"No need to" she eventually answered as she came to a decision after pondering her unfortunately little options. Of course Ladybug never had planned on revealing her identity to Chat Noir but she also never expected a situation like the one she found herself in. Who could have possibly suspected all their lives, Ladybug's, Chat Noir's and even Hawk Moth's, were connected in such an intimately way? "Let's get you somewhere save and comfy."  
 _Home_ was Adrien's first association. But he couldn't think of any place that would meet these qualities for him. Not anymore.  
They already flew over the rooftops of Paris as Adrien finally realized that Ladybug was carrying him in her arms. He was lost in his own, frightening thoughts.  
He saw himself eating dinner next to Hawk Moth and arguing about insignificant trifle. Living in the same house and spending everyday right beside Chat Noir's and Ladybug's nemesis. Every encounter with his father of the last few months came back to his mind within seconds but in every single one his father was portrayed as a dark figure surrounded by a swarm of black-purple butterflies.  
But worst of all was the contamination of the treasured memory of his Maman. Every laugh, every affectionate smile, her whole life, she dedicated to _Hawk Moth_. He felt like his entire existence was a big paradox, a mistake. One sick joke made by fate.  
Feeling his grip around her neck tighten again Ladybug ran like her live depended on it. She wanted to bring him to a homey environment where he hopefully would be able to feel loved and steady himself a little as soon as possible.  
After a chase that felt way longer than the five minutes it actually took, the Dupain-Cheng bakery beautifully appeared like the shelter it was meant to be at the horizon and Ladybug carefully landed on her balcony. Now that they had arrived at the destination she targeted for the time being her thoughts circled around another thing than Adrien: her own fear. In a few seconds he would be faced with the disappointment that she; clumsy, awkward Marinette, was his praised Lady. Hopefully the reveal wouldn't devastate him even more than he already was.  
"I don't want to burden you anymore but there is no other place I could bring you to" she explained as she placed him on one of her more comfortable chairs and tucked a blanket around his shoulders that she forgot to bring back to her room earlier. Nervously she bit her lip and looked away, fighting back the tears. She just wanted a little moment before she exposed her best hidden secret that would not only put her cherished partnership with Chat Noir to the test but also cause her relationship to one of her closest friends who also happened to be her crush to shake.  
Adrien blinked at her, pulled out of his thoughts once again. Barely present he realized that Ladybug talked to him but her words hardly reached him. Just like his mind his gaze wandered off too but the sight in front of him struck him, causing him to think straight again as realization hit him.  
 _I know this outlook_.  
And just as she gathered all the courage she had and closed her eyes wearily he looked back at her in wide-eyed comprehension.  
"Tikki, spots off."


	3. Part 3

Blankly Adrien stared into Marinette's red, fearful eyes but his brain was in no condition to process that he, in fact, was staring into the enchanting, beautiful eyes belonging to his precious Ladybug. Deep down he recognized their familiar kindness and trust but the pain in his chest simply prevented that information from reaching his heart.

Marinette was Ladybug.

Right now he was completely blind for everything. He just looked at her, seeing her pain and anxiety yet not realizing it. He overlooked the flood of tears streaming down her cheeks, her trembling and heavy breathing went by unnoticed. Even though he was able to look right into her soul he couldn't see the panic rising inside of her, her urge to scream and run away.

He did not see her heart breaking although it happened right in front of him.

In the distance they heard sirens spreading all over the town. They were already looking for him.

Bitterly laughing Adrien shook his head as he imagined his father acting all worried and like an actual loving and caring parent. Except for him no one knew that it was only a manipulative charade.

Without saying anything Adrien stood up to go inside, he did not want them to possibly find him. With all the cruel thoughts and pictures crashing down on him, entirely occupying all of his senses, he had already forgotten about Ladybug.

The sheltering blanket around him slid down his shoulders and fell to the ground in front of Marinette as nipping air immediately engulfed him.

"Don't take it personally. I'm… tired" he whispered, not sure and not really caring if she heard him. But as he climbed through her skylight he turned his head around to express a single "Thanks" at least.

And with that he was gone and left a broken girl alone in the cold, dark night.

Marinette stared down to the ground without seeing anything. Tears filled her vision, making it impossible to see more than blurry lines in front of her.

Not ever had she felt such great pain. It felt like her heart shrunk up to such an extent where it simply disappeared and stopped existing. In its place rose thorns inside of her chest, pricking her from inside without a chance to tear them out.

They were happy Hawk Moth was busy chasing after his son.

Suddenly a black blotch appeared in her blurry vision.

"Hey girl, try not to be too sad. That boy is in a damaged condition right now but if he would be in his right mind he would be extremely grateful that you're supporting him. And that it's you" the blotch – his Kwami, she considered – reassured her. A red blotch accompanied him.

"Plagg is right, Marinette. Don't beat yourself up about what just happened, he doesn't mean it. You know that Adrien is a considerate and kind person, don't you? Everything will be fine, trust me" Tikki tried to soothe her as well.

Simultaneously Plagg and Marinette started to laugh with embitterment.

"Why are you laughing?" Tikki asked defensively and Plagg looked at her with grave concern in his eyes.

"If we didn't laugh we would cry, you know? I guess we just don't believe that everything will turn out fine. Not at this point."

Tikki already wanted to disagree but Marinette hurried to rise to speak. "I will be fine Tikki, don't worry. But that's not what this is about. Adrien already lost his mother and now it turns out his father is not… the person he thought he was. And even that person already wasn't a great father." Marinette shivered, not only due to the cold, and enwrapped herself in the blanket in front of her. It smelled like him. "He must feel completely alone" she said under her breath.

"But he isn't" Plagg winked and educed a small smile from Marinette since he reminded her of Chat Noir but it only lasted seconds.

"It's just… I can't face him right now. I can't stand it. And I don't even think he would like my presence. Nevertheless he shouldn't be on his own at a time like this…" she mumbled desperately trying to come up with a solution.

"We always do this thing were we exist next to each other without talking, seems to be the perfect moment for that. I guess I should keep him company" Plagg suggested and Marinette shot him a thankful smile.

"Sounds good to me. I'll be here mourning if you need anything" she sighed and turned to face the city skyline with a blank expression.

Silently Plagg and Tikki looked at each other and nodded. This time the heroes of Paris were the ones who needed to be saved and the two of them wouldn't back down to do exactly that.


End file.
